More Than Friends
by Nisa Somerholic
Summary: Damon and Elena are best friends. That's until Damon's mom decides that they need to move away from Mystic Falls. After the death of Damon's mother and a tragic accident Elena comes into his life again(after 17 years)with information that bring it upside down. Will they get to be friends again, or will they decide that they can be something more than that?
1. No Good In Goodbye

**Note:This is actually my very first real Delena story. I've only published an One Shot of Damon's death in the past. I hope it will work out and I will get to actually finish it without having problems(like running out of ideas). This chapter is just a taste of the story and I've already planned out a lot of the things that I actually want to see happening in the rest of the chapters...I'll do my best to keep the story good. Please be nice and review. It's important to me because it's like the first time I'm really writing and I want to hear your opinions. Thank you guys xxx **

* * *

The black haired woman took a sip of her coffe before her eyes focused on her friend again.

"Are you sure you're making the right decision?" Miranda asked and placed her long hair behind her ear, before her hand reached for the other woman's.

"I'm sure." Sarah didn't like the idea of moving either. She spent the past 8 years of her life in this little town called Mystic False. It was the place where she and her son had found a home with people who cared about them. This town however, wasn't always a home to her. She could still remember her first days there. She was a complete stranger and she had to stand on her own feet and be strong for her unborn child's shake. These memories combined with other ones of her past were still haunting her...he was haunting her, because he was the reason she got in this town in the first place. Moving from this town was her only option to completely leave her past behind and finally look only forward to the future she and her son deserved to have.

"I need to do this Miranda. I need to make a brand new begining...I can't keep on living in the past. My son needs me." Her eyes fell on the seven year old boy with the raven black hair who was entertaining Miranda's - 2 years younger - daughter, Elena.

"Does he even know?" Miranda had a concerned look on her face but it vanished when Sarah nodded and looked back at her son. She hated that she had to separate him from Elena. These two grew up together and they had never spent a day without eachother, which was making things harder for the little boy.

Damon noticed teh way his mother was looking at him and he ran to her witha warm smile that was filling his big, ocean blue eyes with light.

"Hey baby. Are you having a good time?"

"Yes." The boy said with a strong voice. "But mommy...is it tonight that I have to say goodbye to Elena?" And with these words the smile left his face.

"Yes baby." She stroke his cheek gently.

"But why can't she come with us? I promise that I will be with her all the time and I won't let anything happen to her." Sarah smiled at the beautiful and inoscent thoughts her son had. She looked at Miranda who was smiling at Damon in the exact same way.

"Oh sweetie...Elena can't come with us. She needs to stay here with her mommy." Sarah explained in a sweet voice.

"Damon baby, come here" The boy rushed to go sit on Miranda's lap. "You will be visiting us any time you want." She placed a kiss on his hair. "I know you're not happy that you're leaving but think about all the new friends you're gonna make in Denver. Think of it as a new big adventure." The boy started thinking about it.

"And when we're settled there we might also get a puppy. You always wanted one right?" Damon was smart though and he knew his mother was trying to get his mind off of the fact that he had to leave his friend behind.

"But I'm still gonna be missing Elena." He stated.

"Sweetie we're gonna miss you too." But Damon decided that he didn't want to waste another minute of the time he had left with Elena, so he ran back to her.

"What's going on?" The tiny girl with the long brown hair asked.

"I want to tell you something. But I don't want you to be sad."

"I heard. You're leaving, aren't you?" The little girl sighed. "And I won't see you again?" They had the same sad look on their faces.

"That's not true. We will see eachother again..I promise." He pulled her into a tight hug and the girl put her little arms around her friend. When they pulled away she took his hand and placed something in it. Damon took a look at it and saw a little bracelet and chuckled when he realized it was a girly one.

"Why are you laughing? It's a gift Damon." The girl said a little annoyed with her friend's reaction.

"Thank you. I can't wear it because I'm a boy...but I can keep it in my pocket." He smiled and she did the same.

"Don't be silly. I didn't give to you to wear it. I gave it to you because I don't want you to forget me."

"Don't worry. I will not."

"Do you pinky swear?"

"I pinky swear."

Their mothers watched them silently and they just started to realize how tough this would be on both kids. Damon and Elena were friends since the very first day Elena was born. When she grew up a little bit and Damon was already 4 he would spend hours with her trying to make her smile, instead of playing with Jeremy, Elena's older brother. The little girl had no idea what a Damon-less life - or even day - was, because they were always together. The changes in their lives would be a lot and hard, but they would happen anyway.

After Sarah finished her coffee she helped her son put on his jacket. That was it. They were leaving Mystic Falls behind.

"Miranda thank you for everything you did for us. We will never forget you and your beautiful family." The two women pulled eachother into a tight hug. Never has Sarah realized how much she has bonded with Miranda until that very moment that they were saying goodbye.

"We won't forget about you either. We're gonna miss you and Damon." The woman pulled back first and saw her friend hurrying to wipe away the tear that had just rolled down her cheek.

"Come on Damon. We got to go." She looked down to her son. The boy took his mather's hand and they started walking away from the Gilbert house. Damon looked back to see his friend for one last time and they smiled to eachother saying a silent goodbye.

* * *

8 years later:

Miranda was looking at her friend in disbelief. She couldn't bring herself to get used to the fact that Sarah had cancer. But the worst part was that she didn't know what to say. She wasn't prepared for that. When her friend called her asking if she could visit she was ecstatic that she would get to see her again. She got suspicious when she said that Damon wasn't coming with her but she decided to just not comment on it. She didn't think for a second that Sarah had such a huge problem. After all she sounded normal when they talked on the phone. And there she was sitting across her, still looking beautiful with her raven black hair and big blue eyes, but already tired because of her lack of health.

"You don't have to say anything." Sarah broke the silence. It was like she could read Miranda's mind. She knew that people didn't know what to say or do in situations like that and she didn't want her friend to struggle in order to find something nice to say, after all she didn't want to hear anything pittyful. "I didn't come here with no reason Miranda. I actually have to give you something and ask you a favor."

"Of course, anything!" Miranda said without a second thought and Sarah reached for her back and pulled a little white file out of it.

"Things aren't good. The doctors don't give me much of time. I don't know for how long I will be surviving...but when I'm gone I don't want Damon to be all alone." She paused and tears started rolling down her cheecks. "He doesn't have anyone other than me. But I want to change that."

"How Sarah? The only living family he has other than you is his father. And this man has no idea about Damon's existance." The woman was confused.

"I know. It's all my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have ran away all these years ago...things would be different now." She couldn't stop sobbing. She didn't care that she was dying. The only thing she cared about was her son and her heart was aching for what would happen to him after her death who was nearing every second that was passing.

"Hey." Miranda stood up and walked to the couch Sarah was sitting and sat next to her. She put an arm around her shoulder and tried to calm her down. "Don't go hard on yourself. You did everything in your power to give Damon a good life. You're one hell of a mother Sarah."

"I don't know if I'm a good mother or not..all I know is that I did a horrible mistake and I'm here to fix it." She wiped away her tears. " I wrote this letter. It's the whole story of me and Guiseppe. I'm giving himevery bit of information I have because I want him to have the choice to meet his father." She paused to look deep into Miranda's eyes."Please promise me that you will find my son and give him that letter when I won't be here."

"Of course I will find him and give him the letter. I will also help him find his father if he decides he wasnt to meet him." Miranda gave her a kind smile.

"Thank you so much. " Tears appeared again in her eyes.

"Sarah..now you need to be strong and fight for your life the longest you can. And if you need _anything _I'll be by your side."

* * *

9 years later:

Elena pressed the doorbell with uncertainty. She didn't know how to feel that she'd see Damon again after all these years. She remembered how close they were and how protective of her he was as a kid. One part of her wished that Damon and her would just still be the way they were back then but she knew that wasn't possible. It had been 17 years. Everything changed and she didn't know what to expect from him, God, she didn't even know if he would remember her. _But how could he ever forget? _She asked herself.

She waited for a minute but no one oppened the door, so she pressed the little button again.

"He's not insode." She heard someone saying. She turned around to see an old man who was taking his dog for a walk. "He's at the bar he's working." The man continued.

"Oh" It was the only thing that Elena said at first. "Where can I find it?" She finally asked with a smile that was warming her brown eyes.

"It's across the town square my dear. It's called Midnight Rose."

The man gave Elena instracctions on how to get to the square and after she thanked him she started walking towards her destination. When she finally saw the bar with the red neon sign saying "Midnight Rose" she smiled and walked in. The place wasn't big and it didn't seem special but it was providing her a feeling of warmth. There were many free tables since it was too early in the night for anyone to be sitting in a bar. She kept on looking around while enjoying the old time classic rock songs that were playing.

"Can I help you?" A voice whispered in her ear and made her jump a little before turning around to meet the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen. They were like two windows with a view in an ocean of blue and they were burning her chocolate brown ones. She took a step back in order to take a better look of the man's handsome face. God, he was _gorgeous_. Everything about his face was perfect, from the well shaped lips that were begging to be kissed, to the sexy jawline that was distracting her. His hair were raven black and she cold only imagine that they would feel like silk if she could touch them. After she took in his whole image she was now 100% sure that the guy with the sexy smirk that was standing in front of her wasn't a stranger.

"Damon?" She asked breathlessly.

He wasn't sure how to react. He was desperately trying to remember her because she obviously knew him. Every time he was about to recall the memory it was slipping away from him which made him realize what an old memory it was. The first thing he thought when she heard him calling his name was that she might be another one of the girls he met at the bar and had an one night stand with them. Lot of them were coming to him for a second round, but the girl standing in front of him didn't seem like one of those. After all if he had slept with her he was sure he wouldn't have forgotten about her because she was a true beauty. Long brown hair curled at their endings, eyes full of fire and lips slightly parted wich were giving him all short of fantasies of what they could do to him.

"Do I know you?" Damon sure as hell had a lot of confidence but in that moment it felt like all of it magically disappeared and he could hear it in his own voice. Without warning and before she could form any response, images of a younger version of him playing with a little girl with brown eyes, started playing before his eyes like an old movie. The moment he came back to earth and the oceans of blue locked with the warmth of the brown he could finally see it.

"I'm Elena." She said confirming the connection that his mind had already made a second ago. She was examining his expression carefully, waiting to find a sign that would give away if he had recognized her, and when she finally thought she saw that sing she was ready to speak but he cut her off.

"I'm sorry. You must have the wrong guy." He said coldly. Damon wasn't used to being rude with no reason, neither was he used to lying but he wasn't ready to look at the past, especially when every bit of it was filled with memories of his happy life with hi mother. Elena coming back to his life made him remember everything he was trying to get off of his mind and move on. He _had_ to avoid her. He couldn't let her throw him back the the place he was when he lost his mother. He _wouldn't._

"No...I'm sure I have the right one." Her words made him turn his back to her and start walking away but she followed him. She didn't believe for a second that he couldn't remember. Even if at first he wasn't able to tell who she was, she had seen the change in his expression when he trully saw her.

"Do you want anything else?" He managed to sound as rude as possible in order to push her away and he climbed inside of the bar and pretended to be bussy but Elena could see right through him.

"Are you really gonna act like you don't remember me?" Her eyes were piercing his back that was now turned to her while he was preparing some drinks.

"I _don't _know you." He said as a matter of factly.

"Okay. I see." She said and he thought that he actually convinced her but then she continued. "I have all the time and patience in the world. I'm not giving up so easily." He should have known better. Elena was like that since she was a kid. _Stubborn as hell h_e thought. He knew he was in trouble because he had just made himself her new challenge, but he refused to just give up. Maybe he would win after all.

"If you're done, you can leave. We have nothing else to say." He gave her a look that was warning her to not follow him again and he walked away from the bar. Elena felt the anger burning her on the inside and she suddenly had the desire to punch something. The only thing she did though, was sigh and walk out of the bar. She was gonna wait for him. She had come here for a reason and she wasn't leaving without giving him the letter she promised her mother she would give him.

* * *

She was waiting outside of the bar for what felt like forever until she finally saw the last group of people walking out of it. It was 3 a.m and she knew it was dangerous for her to be standing all alone in the middle of the street, in a place she had never been before and knew no one but a certain person who wouldn't admit he knew her. _I'll soon change that _she thought.

* * *

Alaric was surprised to see the same figure he had seen 2 hours ago standing outside of the bar still there.

"That's creepy" He said as he continued cleaning the tables.

"What?" Rose asked confused.

"That girl.." He paused and looked out of the window again. "She's been standing there all night. I've never seen her around before." Rose followed his gaze.

"That's the girl that was here earlier. Damon pretended he didn't know her. God, know why."

"And what makes you think I know her?" Damon approached them with his usual smirk.

"Because if you really didn't know you would have tried to _get _to know her. She's your type." He was busted. Rose and Ric were the two people in this world that knew him better than anyone.

"She really is your type." Alaric confirmed.

"Oh really? And when did you two became such experts on what is my type in girls?" He was sarcastic. "I just don't wanna have anything to do with her. Is that enough for you two idiots to leave me alone?"

Rose and Alaric rolled their eyes and they decided to just drop it. After all they knew he would overreact if they'd push him.

* * *

Elena felt the excitement washing through her when she finally saw the lights of "Midnight Rose" going out and Damon walking out of it. She approached him quickly and ignored the annoyed expression on his face when he noticed her presence.

"Finally." She said.

"What do you want?" By the look on his face, he would do anything to get rid of her. "I made myself pretty clear earlier. I have no idea who you are!" He rolled his eyes when she didn't respond and he locked the door of the bar and started walking towards his house. Elena started following him.

"Why are you doing this?" She didn't know what else to say. She couldn't thing of any good reason...except..._what if he really doesn't remember?_

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just walking to my house. _You _the one who has been following me all day! And it's starting to creep me out!" He wasn't anywhere near admitting that he knows who she is and she wasn't even sure anymore if he knew...so she decided to play the last card she had.

"Alright. I will stop. I guess you're not Sarah's son so you're not the one who shall recieve her letter." Damon froze. _Bingo!_ She had played it well.

And when she thought that things would startgoing the way she wanted them to, he totally surprised her by grabbing her by her shoulders and pushing her against the wall of an old building. His blue eyes had darkened and they were piercing hers with a threatening look. Every inch of her back was in pain and she could still feel the strong hold of his hands that were not letting her move. Her whole body started shaking uncontrollably.

"What the hell? Let go of me!" She yelled with every bit of strength she had left. She started hitting his strong chest to make him back off but with no success. His hold on her only got stronger and the anger was painted all over his face.

"Who do you think you are huh? Playing with how I feel about my mother?" His teeth were clenched and his voice was so low and scared her to death.

"You left me no choice." She said with a shaky voice. Damon tried to control himself and he backed off a little bit. She still felt like her heart was about to jump off her chest though. She wanted to get away from him as fast as humanly possible. When they both calmed down Damon covered his face with his hands. _What had he done?_ It wasn't Elena's fault that his mother was dead. It wasn't her fault that he never got over it. And she sure as hell didn't deserve the way he treated her. He was drowning in guilt as he looked at her. She was still recovering from the shock and he hated the fact that he was the one responsible for it.

"Are you alright?" He said in a worried tone and extended his hand to touch hers but she pulled away from him.

"Don't touch me!" She said with her teeth clenched. She quickly pulled a white file out of the pocket of her black leather jacket and she handed it to him beeing careful for their eyes to not meet. "It's a letter your mother wrote for you. She gave it to my mother in order to give it to you..you know..just in case." She waited for a response and when she got none she continued. "I should warn you thugh that it's not just a goodbye letter." He looked shattered and even after everything he's done on part of her felt sorry for him and the pain he must had gone through. _Don't feel sorry for him Elena!He treated you like shit. He doesn't deserve your pitty _she tried to convince herself.

Damon was standing there feeling his entire existance hanging from the letter he had in his hands. The only thing that made him stop starring at the white file was Elena, who started walking away. He didn't want her to leave like that. He would do anything to make up for everything he did.

"Hey wait!" But she didn;t stop walking. "Just wait!" He said again and this time she turned to look back at him.

"What?" She asked coldly.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Elena couldn't believe in her ears. He first treats her like she's nothing and then he suddenly cares about where she's spending the night.

"If that's you offering me a room in your house, the answer is _hell no!_ I'd rather freeze in my car." He was lucky her eyes didn't have the abillity to throw bullets because he would have been dead. He let her walk away furiously and he watched her disappear in the darkness of the night. He had realy screwed up. _Badly._

* * *

**So that was the first chapter. Please let me know if you liked it so that I know if I should continue the story or start something different. Let's call it a pilot chapter..to see how it goes. Also if you have any questions about the characters or the plot I'll be more than happy to answer to you. xxx**


	2. Upside Down

**So here's the 2nd chapter. The first one got one review saying that I should get a beta reader because there were several mistakes in it. Sorry about that..you're totally right I noticed these mistakes too but I had already published it by then. I've started searching for a beta but no one replied to me yet so for now the only thing I can do is double check the next chapters myself before publishing them. Thank you guys for reading this story though..it means a lot.**

* * *

She hadn't slept at all, the entire night. Not only because she never got to get warm enough to sleep - even after using every piece of clothing she had brought with her - but also because of the disappointment she felt after her meeting with her old friend. She knew that she wouldn't come back in his life and suddenly be friends with him again. But she expected him to be friendly enough to welcome her and have a polite conversation with her about all the years they've spent apart. Then she would have handed him his mother's letter and she would have even helped him to deal with everything, just like she had promised her mother she would do. But Damon was not even near being friendly with her, even though she couldn't understand why.

A knock on the window of her car pulled her out of her thoughts. When she turned her head her eyes met his baby blues. He had an apologetic expression on his face. Elena lowered her window without breaking the hold her eyes had on his. For a second she felt like she was looking at an angel. A very dangerous one, from what she could recall from last night.

"Morning sunshine." He gave her a charming smile. She hasn't seen him smilling since the minute she told him who she was. It was a nice change and she thought it was making him look even more beautiful than he already was. Elena though was far from over, of what he'd done, and she was nowhere near forgiving him.

"What do you want? She said trying to sound as cold as possible which made Damon chuckle.

"I brought you this." He was holding a cup of coffee and he was waiting for her to take it.

"Is it poisoned or something?" She said in a smartass tone while suspiciously looking at the cup, which made Damon roll his eyes.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." It was already too much for him to make such a move, but he decided that he _had_ to. "It's a peace offering." He said and didn't wait any longer for her to take it. He simply placed it in her hand.

"And what makes you think that a cup of coffee will fix everything?" She pushed her hand out of the window and let the coffee cup fall on the cold ground. The content of it was now all over Damon's black jeans. "Here goes your peace offering." She said and then a develish smile appeared on her face.

His shocked expression left his face quickly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in order to not say anything he would regret later. When he opened his eyes again he found Elena trying to find her car keys. That could only mean that she was trying to leave.

"Now that you got it out of your system..could we just talk?" He asked with a calm voice but she ignored him and kept on looking for her keys. When she finally found them he knew he didn't have much more time to convince her to stay. The window of the car was still open so he reached for her arm in order to make her look at him. When she did, he looked deep inside her eyes. "I. Am. Sorry." He emphasized every word, and that made her think that he actually meant it. He wasn't the kind of guy who would do apologies like that, but he knew he really owed her one even if she wouldn't forgive him in the end. "Look..I know I acted like a class A dick-"

"Please don't tell me you'll give an entire speech telling me what an ass you are. You said you wanted to talk. So start talking." It was the second time she had left him speechless. _That girl sure has fire_ he thought.

"Seriously? Like this?" His eyes ran in the space between them. "Lets go to the bar. I'm not working today."

"Fine." She said. She would have insisted for them to talk there and then but she really needed to stretch out a bit after the long night she had spent in her car.

* * *

"Come on, let me introduce you to my friends." They walked together slowly until they reached the bar were they found Alaric and Rose working. Damon took a glance of Elena who looked totally out of place. He chuckled. "Elena, I promise they don't bite." Elena rolled her eyes at his statement and she decided to take control and not wait for him to make the introductions.

"Hi. I'm Elena." She smiled to both Damon's friends. Rose was the first one to climb out of the bar and uproach Elena.

"The mistery girl?" She asked Damon and smirked, which made Elena blush. Rose was beautiful. She had big green eyes encircled by dark long eye-lashes. Her hair were cropped short and pointing in every direction. "It's nice to meet you Elena. I'm Rose." She shook Elena's hand.

"Great meeting you too." Elena forced a smile on her face.

"And this is my idiot best friend..Alaric." Damon pointed at the tall guy with the hazel hair.

"Call me Ric, 'Lena." He gave her a boyish smile.

"Sorry he was such an ass. He can't help it sometimes." Rose said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"That ass apologized to her and only got his jeans covered in coffee." Damon stated.

"You were asking for it." Elena finally found a way to enter the conversation.

"I already like that girl." Alaric said.

"Come on Elena. Let's go sit somewhere far from these two."

Then minutes later they were all settled, at a table next to the window that had a view on the beautiful town square.

"Did you open the letter?" He seemed to be in an extremely good mood compared to the previous day and she was wondering if he found anything in that letter that helped at the change of his mood.

"I didn't. And don't start asking about that. I don't want to talk about it." And just like that he shut her out.

"But why wouldn't you open it? Don't you wanna know the reason your mother wrote it?"

"My life just started to become stable again. I'm 100% sure that if I open that letter, everything's gonna change. And I like things the way they are now."

"You're scared?" Elena asked...but it wasn't a real question. She knew, she saw it..it was there.

"Will you just drop it? I said I don't want to talk about it. Let's talk about less depressing stuff." He tried to regain his good mood. "Tell me about your life."

"I thought you said you didn't want to talk about depressing stuff." Elena said looking down at the cup of coffee that was in front of her.

"Oh come on, I bet you were popular in high school, had the perfect grades, dated the captain of the football team and every guy wanted you." He gave her a charming smile which made her heart skip a beat.

"That's most of the good part." She said nodding.

"And what's the bad part?" There was a pause. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He added.

"My father had a heart condition..until one day he had a heart attack and he wasn't strong enough to survive it. He died when I was 17." Her face remained calm but her voice was giving away how painful this had been for her.

"That's sure is depressing." He looked down. He now felt connected to her in a way that he could never find words to explain.

"Wow..you didn't say-"

"I din't say I'm sorry?" He finished her thought.

"Yeah." She was surprised. Everyone was always ready to say how sorry they were like it was their fault that her father was gone.

"Would it make you feel better about it?" He didn't wait for her reply. "Because it never really worked for me."

"Good point." She smiled and she meant it for the first time since she had met him.

"And what about your mother?...God, I loved that woman!" Damon said dramatically.

"Yeah that's because she used to give you extra pieces of cake. She thought you were very thin." He laughed at the memory of his childhood. Miranda was always like a mother to him and he loved her like she really was.

"So how is she?"

"Let's say that the tragedy in the Gilbert family didn't exactly start with my father's death." She looked around. She didn't want to focis on his eyes.

"Why? Is your mother..." He didn't finish his sentence. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

No. She's alive. But a year before my father died..she had a car accident and it set her on a wheel chair for the rest of her life." She finally let her eyes meet him and she somehow found comfort there. She knew he couldn't know exactly how she felt - no one could - but it seemed like he was the only one who ever got so close in understanding.

"You Gilberts, really are tregedy magnets." They bitter-smiled to eachother. "But how did it happen?"

"It doesn't matter. It's in the past." She was glad when he just dropped it...she wasn't supposed to talk with him about that.

"Are you gonna eat that?" He pointed at a cookie that Alaric had brought her along with her coffee.

"You can have it if you answer to one question." She said with a challenging smile. "Afte all I've answered to all of yours. I think I deserve to know a little bit about you too."

"Fair." He said and claimed the cookie. "Shoot."

"Are you all alone in this world?" He laughed out loud which pissed her off. "What's so funny?" She said in an annoyed tone.

"It sounded like a line from a soap opera Elena." He chuckled.

"So are you gonna answer the question or not?"

"No."

"No what?"

"No. I'm not _all alone in this world._" He said mimicking her voice which made her roll her eyes even though she was holding back from letting go and laughing as well.

"So...is it a serious relationship or something?" She asked not wanting to sound like she was too interested in the subject.

"Yeah...I became monogamous after meeting Alaric." He tried to look serious in order to mess with her. _Success _he thought when he saw the 'what the fuck' kind of look that was etched on her face. "Relax..I'm kidding." He smirked. "What I mean is that I'm not alone. I have Alaric and Rose. They are like family to me." Elena gave him a sweet smile.

"Glad to know you're not alone."

* * *

The spent hours talking about all the random subjects that would cross their minds and reminiscing about their friendship. They weren't exactly friends again but they didn't feel far from it. They enjoyed eachother's company as much as they did when they were kids and the bond the shared 17 years earlier started comming on the surface.

Now it was late in the night and everyone except from a young couple had already left. Rose and Alaric had joined them on the table they were sitting.

"So you really are a womanizer." Elena chuckled and Damon looked down and ran his fingers in his messy raven black hair.

"You got that right. He's a complete manwhore." Rose stated and laughed when Damon smirked proudly.

"Yeah. The guy has sex on a regular basis and he's never even been in a relationship." Alaric lifted his hands in the air dramatically.

"How do you do that?" Elena asked amused.

"I've got secret talents." He said and wiggled his eye brows. Elena rolled her eyes but she knew that it was natural from women to be attracted to him. He had the face of perfection, eyes that were blue like the ocean and held the power of the strongest waves, body wellshaped and muscled like a Greek God's. She couldn't find something that didn't look attractive on him. Even his voice was invting her in.

"Alright I think I've had enough of the "Let's be cocky" talk with Damon." Elena said and drunk the martini that she had ordered earlier.

"Okay. Let's go then." Damon said and grabbed her black leather jacket to hand it to her as he stood up.

"It was great hanging out with you guys." Elena said and Rose smiled at her with such a warmth that made Elena feel like they were old friends.

"It was great meeting you Elena. I hope this won't be the last time we're seeing you."

"I don't think it is."

"Good." Rose surprised Elena by pulling her into a hug.

"It was great meeting you Elena. And don't hang out too much with that dick. He's a bad influence." Alaric chuckled and Elena looked at Damon and smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful." She said.

"Can we just go?" Damon shruged.

"Okay!Start walking..you big baby!" She rolled her eyes and they left the bar.

When they were out Elena started walking towards her car.

"Where do you think you're going?" Damon asked in a 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' kind of tone.

"Getting to my car. I should be going Damon." She sighed.

"And you think that I'm gonna let you drive at this time while you're tired and drunk?" He was being prottective. He didn't know how not to. That's what he was good at when it came down to her.

"Damon I'll be fine. I didn't drink so much after all."

"I can't be sure about that. So you're not going anywhere." Damon stated.

"I can't kandle another night speeping in this car. I just want this trip to be over and go home...and have a serious meeting with my bed." He chuckled at the cute face she was making.

"Who said I'd let you stay in your car? Follow me." He grabbed her shoulders and started pushing her to the direction of his house.

"Where are we going?" She asked annoyed.

"To my house."

"But I never said yes to that."

"I don't care." He stated.

"Caveman." She said but smiled. She had found her old friend and it was warming her heart.

When they reached his house and they walked in Elena was surprised by the size of it. It wasn't big for a family, but for someone who was living all alone there was plenty of space. There was living room with two couched the one across the other and a kitchen with a big window with view on the little garden of flowers that he had by the side of his house. There were only two rooms. The one was his and the other one...well she could only guess it once was his mother because the door was closed and locked.

"You have a beautiful home." Elena said as the warm colours of it embraced her.

"Thanks." He smirked. "I have one hell of a taste."

"Will you stop being cocky and bring me a blanket?"

"What do you want with the blanket?" Damon asked confused.

"I can sleep on a couch, but I think that a blanket could help." Elena said and sat on one of the couches.

"You're not sleeping on the couch. You're gonna sleep in my room. The sheets are frsh and clean. I changed them this morning just in case." He smiled at her and Elena tried to control the way that made her feel.

"Are you sure?" She only asked that because she knew that if they would have fought about that he would have won.

"Just get you ass in the room." He sighed.

"Okay. Goodnight Damon. And thanks for letting me stay here."

"No problem." He smirked and watched her walk into his room and shut the door behind her. It was the first time that a girl ever used his room for reason other than have sex with him. Especially when Damon was so attracted to a girl like he was to Elena. He couldn't stop thinking about the image of her beautiful face with those naturally rosen lips and the long brown hair that he wanted so badly to tangle his fingers in. All of these combined with her perfect body with the curves and the long and good shaped legs that models would kill for made him feel his jeans more tight suddenly. He pushed away these thoughts and pour himself a drink.

* * *

Elena woke up in the middle of the nigt and she realized she wasn't at her house. _Of course. I'm at Damon's house. _she thought. She was in need of a glass of water. That always helped her sleep when she had trouble doing so. She pushed away the red blanket that smelt like levanda and had have kept her warm till that got out of bed and opened the door of Damon's room. She was ready to step out but she saw Damon sitting on the couch, drinking and holding a piece of paper. At the coffe table next to him there was a white file which was ripped. _He opened it. _

* * *

** So that was the 2nd chapter. I still haven't found a beta but my best friend Kristy is gonna be helping me check the chapters, starting from the next one. So I hope you liked it. It would be nice to leave a review because well..reviews are important when you're a new writer. Also if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer to you. Thank you for reading guys xxx**


	3. The Sun Also Rises

** Sorry it took a little longer for this chapter to be finished...it's just that..I just finished my exams and the summer just begun so lot of my friends wanted to make plans with me and I just had to say yes because it's been so long since the last time that I had free time. By the way a beta reader replied to me..we'll talk a little more about the details but I think she will agree to help me. Anyway guys, read the 3rd chapter and tell me what you think :)**

* * *

Elena's eyes were aching because of her lack of sleep. She had spent the entire night worrying about Damon who had finished an entire bottle of bourbon all by himself while reading his mother's letter. She didn't know what to do though. Was she supposed to go there and try to make him talk to her about it instead of drinking to the point of passing out? Or was she supposed to just leave him alone and go back to sleep? After all they weren't exactly friends. In the end she decided that she wasn't brave enough to go there and ask him how he was feeling but she also couldn't convince herself to go back to sleep and pretend like she didn't care about him. That would be a lie. Even after all these years she still felt so familiar with having him in her life, even if they weren't the way they used to be.

When Elena decided that she was ready to face Damon and deal with his bad mood - because she was sure he would be in a bad mood - she took a deep a breath and opened the door of his bedroom. She was surprised when to find the couch,that she'd seen him the last time she checked on him, empty. However she heard noises coming from the kitchen that stopped her from panicing. She followed the sound and she found a smiling Damon preparing breakfast like he didn't have a care in the world. He hadn't noticed her presence so she kept on looking at him. He was wearing a dark blue shirt that was making his eyes look brighter. His black jeans were hugging his bottom half perfectly and they were matching with his black boots, giving him a bad boy look that fitted with his personality. Without realizing it a little smile crept across her face while looking at him.

"I know I look gorgeous, but quit starring and take a seat." His voice caught her off guard.

"I wasn't starring. I was just...surprised. I didn't know you can cook." She mentally slapped herself for the crappy excuse she came up with.

"Yeah..I'm full of surprises." She sat on one of the chairs that were around the white wooden table and he placed a plate full of pancakes in front of her. He sat in a chair across her and he gave her one of those rare charming smiles of his instead of his usual sexy smirk. She felt her heart skipping beats so she looked away. She was attracted to him and she knew she shouldn't be thinking about him like that. _It's not right _a tiny voice inside her head said.

"Thank for the puncakes. They look delicious." She smiled down at her plate.

"So what are you waiting for? Eat!"

"Oh my God. Damon I swear they are the best puncakes I've ever tasted." She said after she finished the first one.

"Did you know that women are attracted to men with cooking skills?" He asked in an amused tone.

"So what? Is that your secret or something? You bring them here, you prepair a nice dinner and then they want to sleep with you?" She teased him.

"Nah." He shrugged. "They sleep with me anyway. And I usually don't spend my time doing things for them..like dinner."

"I get it your a womanizer. But haven't you ever been in love?" Her eys locked with his and he was the one to look away this time.

"It was a long time ago...I don't remember much about it." _Oh, but he remembered everything. _

Elena noticed the change in his mood and she decided to stop talking and continue eating her food. Damon though didn't like the awkward silence in the room.

"So what are your plans now?" He didn't know what else to ask her.

"I'm gonna go home. My mom needs me and I'm not sure my brother can handle her on his own." She finished her meal and grabbed her plate and put it in the sink so naturally, like she had been moving in this space for years.

"How's Jeremy by the way?" Damon was glad to find another subject to talk about. "I still remember fighting with him because he wouldn't leave you alone." He chuckled.

"Yeah I remember that too. He was breaking my toys and you stood up for me." She smiled. "But we're not like that anymore..obviously. We get along just fine and I can finally say that it's a good thing to have an older brother to look out for you."

"Well..I have no idea about that. No brother...remember?" She felt bad because he wasn't just talking about the brother he never had...he was actually talking about family. He had none.

"It would fit you to have a little brother though...taking care of him and protecting him." He lowered his gaze and thought of all the times he wished he had a family..a big one, with people who loved him and cared about him. Elena kept on looking at him and something reminded her of the expression he had on his face the last night when she saw him reading the letter. "Damon, I saw you last night." She stated.

"Don't tell me you peeked on me while I was taking my shower." He said teasingly with a widesmirk on his face.

"NO! God, Damon can you be serious for once? I meant that I saw you reading that letter I gave you." She felt better now that he knew.

"Oh..that." He paused. "Well..I don't wanna talk about it."

"But don't you think you need to? I mean, consuming alcohol isn't gonna solve anything." She said in a high tone.

"Just drop it! Okay?" He felt the build up of his anger inside his chest. He didn't want to talk about his mother, especially after the previous night which reoppened lot of wounds that were still in the proccess of healing.

"Don't ask me to just drop it Damon! I'm trying to help!" Elena yelled.

"Why do you care? We aren't friends again all of a sudden." He yelled back.

"You know what? Do whatever the hell you want. I'm gonna grab my stuff and go back to Mystic Falls. So you don't have to worry about me bothering you ever again." He regreted every single word he said to her the moment he realized that he had pushed her away. She left the kitchen and went back in his bedroom and shut the door behind her. _Typical Damon_ he thought..he was disgusted with himself.

* * *

Half an hour later from their fight Elena heard a knock on the door. She knew it could only be him and she didn't give him permition to walk in. However, the door opened a minute later and Damon came in.

"I'm sorry okay?" She looked away from him and he continued. "You were right..I need to talk to someone."

"And why should I care? It's not like we're friends again all of a sudden." She repeated his words from earlier.

"Yeah...I didn't mean that."

"But you can't keep on doing this Damon! You can't just take out your anger on other people and apologize later, and expect everything to be fine again!" She yelled and he sighed.

"I know, Elena. I don't wanna be like that either...I just want to finally have my life back." He paused and looked in her eyes. She felt like he was looking inside her bare soul, his eyes were like magnets and they were making hers unable to look away. A minute ago she wanted to punch him, but she now knew how hurt he was just by the expression he had on his face.

"I hope you'll get everything you want then. But stop hiding from your own feelings...you need to feel them in order to get over them." She paused. "You said that you thought of what I said and that you wanted to talk."

"Yeah..but there's only one person that I want to talk to." He was afraid that she'd refuse to help him with the idea he had on his mind.

"And who's that?"

"Your mother." He stated. "I wanted to come and visit her in Mystic Falls if that's not a problem for you." His eyes were begging hers to just agree with him.

"I don't know if that's a good idea Damon."

"I will behave...I promise!" He said like a little kid who was trying to convince his mother to let him stay one more hour with a friend and play. Elena knew that she had every right to say no to him. But she wanted to help him and if letting him talk to her mother was the way she'd do it. But there was also another part of her which simply wasn't ready to say goddbye to him for the second time...because if she did, it would be forever.

"Okay fine! But no bad behavior, no lashing out, no snarky comments." She looked at him to make sure he was ready to follow all of her rules. "Also you're not gonna complain about the way I'm driving, you're not gonna complain about the music I listen to and you don't have the right to ask me to stop except if it's an emergency. Got it?" He couldn't believe that she was able to make him do whatever she wanted. She was the first woman to ever achieve that after his mother's death.

"Got it." He tried to be serious but he couldn't hide his amusement.

"Good. We're living in ten minutes." She said and simply walked out of the room with a develish smile on her face. She had just started to enjoy this.

* * *

"Seriously?" She said looking at Damon and the blond girl he was flirting with in disbelief.

"Oh there you are." Damon said with a smirk on his face. "Jessica this is my friend Elena. Even though I'd very much like to stay here and keep you company, I have to go with her or I'll have to walk all the way to Mystic Falls." Elena rolled her eyes and tried to avoid looking at the blond girl who now had a name.._Jessica, _said the voice inside her head. She opened the driver's door and got inside the car waiting for Damon to do the same. He had noticed her annoyance so he decided to say a quick goodbye to his new friend and return to the car.

"You're unbelievable." She said as she started the car.

"It's not my fault. Women just can't resist my good looks, my style, my charm-"

"Okay I got it." She cut him off.

"A guy named Tom called you while you were buying coffee." He said while looking out of the window but Elena's intense reaction got his attention. "Why do you look like someone just shot a panda bear?"

"It's..it's just...did you pick it up?" She finally asked and tried to keep her eyes on the road.

"No I didn't." He stated and a sigh of relief left her mouth. "Who is this Tom guy anyway?"

"He...he is my fiance." Elena was just hopping Damon wouldn't laugh in her face for being ready to settle down while she was still so young like most of her friends usually did.

"You're kidding me right?" Damon couldn't believe in his ears and while he shouldn't be having feelings about this, there was something there that made him be moody all of a sudden...was it jealousy? No it couldn't be. _Or could it?_ Whatever it was he decided to keep it hidden.

"No I'm not kidding. Tom and I were together for 3 years and last month he proposed and I said yes." She forced a smile on her face. Talking about Tom was kind of hard. They weren't exactly ina good place before she left Mystic Falls to go and find Damon.

"Well, why don't you call him back?"

"We had a fight."

"About what? May I ask.." She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Damon about it but she just wanted to finally get it our of her system.

"Tom is working for his father, big company and all." She sighed. "Yesterday their company had an anniversary of 20 years. Tom wanted me to be there but when he told me about it I had already promised my mother to come and look for you, so I said no...and well he was kind of disappointed. He should have said something earlier I guess." There was silence for a few minutes but then Damon broke it.

"And for how long do yout think he's gonna be mad at you?"

"He doesn't like fighting. I think that the things between us are gonna be fine when I get home." She smiled.

"If he doesn't like fighting you're unlucky as hell." Damon smirked and Elena looked at him in complete confusion.

"And why is that?"

"Aggressive make up sex isn't a option for you." He chuckled at his own joke.

"And what's the difference of that and normal sex?"

"I don't want to spoil anything. You'll know only when it will happen to you." _Well not any time soon then. _Elena thought and almost laughed at herself.

"Fine." She simply said.

"Elena...don't get me worng, but...I'm glad that you didn't go to the anniversary with Tom. I'm glad you're here." Their eyes locked and she gave him a sweet smile and he returned it. He meant every single word that he said even if her return in his life brought so much drama...it still was good, and he felt lucky to have her back. They held eachother's gaze for little bit too long and Elena haven't realized that her face was now a little closer to his than it was before and he was staring at her lips. She cleared her throat and pulled her face away.

"I might sound crazy, but...I'm glad that I'm here too. I kind of needed this trip. And well..it's been quite the adventure." She chuckled.

The hours in the car flew like minutes and they didn't realize how the time had passed. They were so lost in eachother's company. They were somehow giving eachother exactly what they needed. Elena felt free after such a long time. She was being herself with Damon and he seemed to appreciate every bit of her personality. Damon on the other hand felt accepted and he was trying to be at his best behaviour.

Little drops of water started falling from the cloudy sky on the window of the car and then the sound of a lighting echoed from nearby. Elena was laughing at a joke that Damon had said, but the second she heard it she jumped in her seat and an expression of fear appeared on her face. She needed to find a place for them to stay for the night, she needed to get out of that car. Her heart started beating faster and her hands were suddenly holding the steering wheel too tightly. Damon noticed the change of her mood.

"Are you okay?" He reached for her arm. Elena felt comfort by the touch of his hand, but it still wasn't enough.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to keep her voice steady. She didn't want Damon to know about all this...she didn't want him to know about her little problem. After all if he would find out about that, there were other truths that would come along with it. Truths that her mother had made her promise she wouldn't tell him. She almost smiled when she saw a motel on their way. When they reached it she stopped the car without warning.

"Why are we stopping?" Damon asked in confusion. He knew that something was wrong with her but he couldn't tell what.

"I'm kind of tired Damon. Let's stay here for the night." She tried to sound convincing.

"If you're tired just let me drive."

"No. Damon I don't feel very well okay? I think I need to take a shower and then sleep...properly..on a bed." She gave him the best puppy look she had.

"Elena I don't even have money for a motel with me."

"We're gonna take a room with two beds. Simple. You can return the money whenever you can." Elena didn't even care about the money at this point. The only thing she cared about was to get the hell away from that car. Damon could see that she was about to faint so he simply nodded and got out of the car. Instead of just walking at the entrance of the motel, he run to open her door and make sure she was able to stand on her own.

They got inside the motel and there they found an old lady behind the reception desk.

"Hello. How can I help you?" The old woman stood up from her chair.

"We need a room with two beds please." Elena was already feeling a little better.

"I'm afraid they're all taken. We only have one with a double bed left." The woman waited for Damon and Elena to decide whether they'd take it or not.

"Well...I didn't see that coming." Elena chuckled awkwardly.

"It's your choice. I can still drive." Damon offered.

"No. We're taking it." The old woman smiled and handed them the key to their room.

They took the stairs instead of the elevator and the were in their room in no time. Elena didn't waste any time. She took off her jacket and her shoes and she walked inside the bathroom and shut the door closed. Damon kept on staring at the closed door for one more minute. He wasn't sure of what was going on. He only knew that there was something wrong with her. He sighed and took off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. He walked towards the bed and just layed there hearing the sound of the rain from outside.

The sound of a door opening brought him back to consciousness. He had fallen asleep without realizing it. When his eyes opened his mouth almost fell on the floor. Elena was standing in front of him with nothing but a towel on. Her long brown hair were wet and little drops were falling from them to the rest of her body. His eyes moved to her breasts which were showing a little bit too much thanks to the small size of the towel. Her long legs were also too exposed and Damon could now imagine them being locked around his waist. He felt the lower part of his body coming alive and he was relieved that he was still wearing his jeans. How was he supposed to spend the entire night sleeping next to her without thinking about the things he wanted to do to her? _She is engaged, remember? _He reminded it to himself. _  
_

"I'm sorry." She said awkwardly. "I forgot to take my clothes with me."

"I guess I got lucky." He said with a husky voice and his 1.000.000 dollar smirk appeared on his face. Elena blushed. Damon stood up and took his shirt completely off.

"What are you doing?" She wasn't prepared for that. His body was just the way she had imagined, strong and full of muscles...and his abs.._God, _they were like they were photoshopped.

"I need to take a shower too." He said and approached the bathroom door. "You dress up here." And with that he cloed the door behind him.

He took off his pants and boxers and stepped in the shower. He let the cold water fall on his body hopping that it would help with his hard on. He stayed under the cold streaming for a few minutes but every time he blinked the image of Elena wearing only a towel was coming back in his mind. He had no choice, so he simply grasped his manhood and started working to relieve himself from his arousal. He couldn't believe he was acting like a horny teenager. What was wrong with him? When he finished he washed his body with a bar of soap that he found in there.

Ten minutes later he opened the bathroom door. Elena was on the bed with her eyes closed but she wasn't sleeping. She opened her eyes and she saw him walking towards the little suitcase he had brought with him and grabbing a pair of clrear boxers out from it. His towel was hanging low on his waist and she thought that she had never seen anything sexier than that. _What the hell, Elena? _Her mind screamed but she couldn't look away. Damon walked back inside the bathroom and he came out a minute later only wearing his new pair of black boxers. She opened her eyes when she felt weight at the other side of the bed.

"Faker." He chuckled.

"Shut up." She said and smiled with her eyes closed.

"Are you gonna tell me why we're here?" Damon asked still wondering why Elena had reacted like that earlier.

"Go to sleep Damon." She said without opening her eyes.

"Alright, fine." He said and closed his eyes, but a minute later he opened them again. "Are you at least feeling better?" He sighed.

"mmhmm" She said and nooded.

"Good. That's all that matters." He smiled as he took in the beautiful image of her sleeping. She looked so inoscent. Without realizing it he reached for her cheeck and stroked it, gaining a little smile from her.

"Goodnight Elena." He said and he finally surrendered into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Sorry for the mistakes that you will probably find in this chapter. I didn't have the time to double check it before publishing it, but I hope it's not too bad. By the way thank you all for your nice reviews from the previous chapters. Please keep them coming because it's nice to hear your thoughts on the story. This chapter had a little cliffchanger because we found out that Elena is engaged which will bring some angst to the story...but don't worry I'm sure Damon and Elena will get where they need to go. ;) Also what happened to Elena in that car will not be explained soon, but it's an important detail in the story and it has to do with something she's keeping from Damon and trust me she has her reasons(we'll find out about those reasons in later chapters though). Next chapter is gonna be about them arriving to Mystic Falls, so we'll meet the rest of the Gilbert family. Someone asked me if we'll see Damon/Miranda bonding...and yes there are many interesting stuff that will happen between them and their relationship is very promising, so I'd love to see them bonding too. So that was it! Thank you for reading guys! xxx**


	4. Modern Myth

**So here's the 4rth chapter. It's been the most challenging so far even though it didn't take too long to write. I hope** you** guys like it. Enjoy! Xxxx**

* * *

Damon smiled when he realized that Elena was using his chest as a pillow. She was so cute and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her. His little laugh made his chest vibrate and Elena slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. At first she didn't react. She just took in the beauty of his. He looked like an angel while smiling like that. On second thought..._what the hell was she doing on top of him?_ She pulled away quickly and got to her own side of the bed, which made Damon laugh.

"Morning sunshine." He said with a lazy smirk on his face that made him look like a sex God. He wasn't wearing anything on top and Elena tried to keep herself from admiring his naked chest and his abs because she would end up drooling over him.

"How did I end up-"

"It seems to me that even unconscious you simply can't resist me." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"You wish." She said, being obviously annoyed.

"Well every time you heard a lightning you crawled closer and closer to me, until you ended up using my body as your personal pillow." Damon chuckled. "So is that it? You're afraid of lightnings? That's why you freaked out?" Elena gave him a fake chuckle.

"You got me." She lied. Her words came out of her mouth breathlessly. She was relieved that he was far away from the truth.

"It's okay to have a phobia. Most people do." He said as he stood up and grabbed a shirt and put it on.

"And what is your phobia?" She asked him with a challenging smile on her face.

"I'm not afraid of anything." He didn't really know if that was true, but sharing his fears wasn't ever easy for him.

"That can't be true..but whatever you say." She thought it wasn't a good idea to push him. He ignored her comment and walked inside the bathroom. A few minutes later he came out with his teeth brushed, his hair in a place and his smirk still on his face.

"You dress up, I'm gonna go wait in the car." He said and left the room after her little nod.

It didn't take her long to be ready and look perfect. For some reason she was very careful with her appearance that day. When she was about to leave the room she heard phone ringing. It was Caroline.

"Elena where are you? Are you ok? God, I was worried!" The girl yelled from the other side of the phone.

"I'm fine Care, relax. I was-"

"You were supposed to come back yesterday and you didn't show up or called, and then we called you and your phone was turned off." Her mobile was off because her battery had died the previous day while she was driving back to Mystic Falls. "Elena Tom is going crazy here. He called you 12 times last night." Elena closed her eyes and sighed.

"But as you see I'm fine. I just forgot to charge my phone." She paused. "Look...tell Tom I'm fine and that we'll talk when I get home. I got to go. Damon is waiting in the car." She mentally slapped herself for saying that. Now Caroline would want an explanation for all of this.

"Wait, I know you went there to find him and all but you never mentioned he would come back here with you. Also, what do you mean by saying he's waiting at the car? Where are you?"

"Damon wanted to come and visit my mom. We stayed in a motel last-"

"A motel?" The other girl yelled.

"Yes Caroline. It started raining and we were in the car..and I just couldn't. I couldn't keep on driving." She sighed.

"Oh my God. Are you alright now?" She was concerned about her friend because she knew how difficult this must have been for her.

"Yeah. I'm fine, don't worry. Listen, I really got to go. I'll be home tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." She hang up and hurried out of the room and downstairs at the reception desk where she found the woman from last night and checked out of the motel.

"It was about time." Damon said when she stepped inside the car.

"I'm sorry. Caroline called, you remember her right?" She asked him as she started the car. The weather was good that day so she wouldn't have any problems.

"You mean that little annoying blond thing that used to dress up like a princess and come over your house?" He shrugged.

"Yep, that's her." Elena chuckled at the memory of Caroline wearing her tiara and pretending to be the ruler of everything.

"She's hard to forget."

"She's changed a lot you know. You're gonna like her." Elena smiled.

"We all have." He then decided to change the subject. "So how long will it take us to get there?"

"Well we're gonna have some stops but if everything goes as planned we'll be there early in the night."

* * *

Damon recognized the town square. Everything was exactly how he remembered them to be. About five minutes later they were parked outside of the Gilbert house. He stepped out of the driver's seat and he took in the image of the house. Nothing had changed. Images of a younger version of him running around and playing passes before his eyes. He smiled to himself. Even after all these years this place felt like home for him.

"I wish I knew what's in your mind right now." Elena said as she walked next to him and took a look of the house too.

"Memories mostly." He looked down at her and he smiled.

"Come on. Let's get inside." Damon followed her and carried both of their bags to the porch. Elena opened the door and they walked in the house.

"Elena? Is that you?" Damon knew that voice. He used to hear it every single day 17 years ago. The voice was coming from the living room.

"Wait here. She doesn't know you're coming." She left Damon in the hallway and she went to see her mother.

Damon stayed there looking around remembering the best years of his life. He could hear every single word they were saying in the other room though.

"Hey mom." Elena said.

"Hi baby. Everyone was worried about you. Why didn't you call?" He heard Miranda's voice saying.

"There were some complications on that trip. But well, I'm here now." Damon smiled because he knew what she meant by "complications" but he was glad that she didn't get into details about how he acted like an ass to her.

"Did you find Damon? Is he okay? Did you give him the letter?" Damon kept himself from chuckling.

"Yeah. I found him and he's fine." Elena's voice said.

"I wish I could see him too." He heard Miranda sighing. "Oh well..what happened with the letter?"

"You can ask him yourself." He could almost see Elena smiling while saying that.

Damon knew this was a hint for him to walk in, so he did. He felt his heart beating faster with every step he took towards that living room. When he reached it he just stood there looking at the woman with the long black hair and the brown eyes that were now full of tears. He never knew how much he had missed her until that moment. He walked towards her and just then he realized that she was sitting on a wheel chair. That was like a punch in the stomach. He remembered her being full of life and playing with them all the time. He thought of how unfair this was for a woman like her. He lowered his body towards her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Oh my goodness. I can't believe you're here." Miranda said as Damon locked his arms around her as well.

"I'm here." He whispered. She was everything he had left that was coming so close to a mother figure and he felt so vulnerable. She pulled away first and took a good look of him.

"You're all grown up! I can't believe it. Look at how handsome you are." He chuckled at her comment.

"You look great too." He smiled. "Just like I remember you."

"I'm doing whatever I can." She laughed. "Come on sit down and tell me what brings you here." He followed her orders and he sat on the couch next to her wheel chair.

"I'm gonna go, so that you two can talk. I also have to call Tom." Elena said.

"Oh yes I forgot about him. He called last night. He was upset that you didn't return any of his calls. But I assured him you're fine. After all I figured that you would want to spend a little more time with your old friend and I just knew you were alright and that I didn't have to worry." Miranda gave a sweet smile to both Damon and Elena.

"Yeah..well that's not exactly the story. But thanks for calming him down." Elena sighed. "So I'm gonna go call him now." And with that she left the room.

"So, tell me everything about your life." Miranda's voice was full of excitement.

"I live in a little house in Denver. I work at a bar called 'Midnight Rose'. My best friend Alarix owns it. He's like a brother to me. And we also work with another friend, Rose. That's how the bar took its name." He smiled.

"Is she a friend or something more?" He chuckled at this.

"Rose is like a sister to me. Me, Alarix and her are like family. I guess it's because all three of us are all alone. So we just have eachother." The woman gave him a weak smile.

"It's nice to hear you have such great friends." She paused. "But I want you to know that from now on you will have us too." She reached and held his hand in hers.

"Thank you Mrs. Gilbert." He couldn't express all the happiness he was feeling at that moment, he just held her hand tighter in his and gave her a warm smile.

"Please call me Miranda." She corrected him.

"Got it." He winked at her and made her chuckled.

"So tell me...did you read the letter?" Miranda's voice was more serious.

* * *

2 days earlier(Damon's POV):

I saw the light of the bedroom being turned off and I sighed and collapsed on the couch. I was so tired. I haven't slept the previous night. Her coming here made everything complicated. And this letter? What did my mother want to tell me? What could possibly be so important that I had to know, even after she was dead. And why didn't she tell me herself? These questions made me want to open that letter and at the same time they scared the help out of me. But I wouldn't let them keep me awake for the rest of my life. I had to open it. I grabbed the letter from the coffee table in front of me and brought it closer to my face. Before I could blink I had ripped the file and opened the white piece of paper and started reading.

_Dear Son, _

_ The fact that you're reading this, means I'm gone. I can only hope I didn't leave you too soon. I promised that I would fight and live even longer than the doctors said I could. In case I didn't succeed on doing that, I'm so sorry Damon. I just want you to always know that no matter what happened, I love you my boy, as I always have and always will. I'm so proud of you and having you for a son has been the epitome of a fulfilled life._

_ The reason I wrote this letter is because after all these years you deserve to know the truth. I know you always respected my choice of not telling you who your father was, but I think it's the time for you to find out. You need to know though that I'm not giving you this information because I think he deserves you, but because I know that no matter what the mistakes of the past, you two can maybe be a family some day. I don't want you to be alone son. So even if some things of the story that you're about to read don't make sense to you, try to understand._

_ Everything started when I met your father in the summer of 1989. We were both 19 years old, so young. We fell for eachother instantly. However, his parents would never approve of me. My father was just a worker at their garden which made them automatically dislike me. You see, they wanted their son to marry a woman from their circles and I wasn't one of those. Me and your father tried to stay away from eachother but it was impossible because we were crazy about eachother. In the end we decided to start seeing eachother in secret. This situation lasted for 3 months. After that I got pregnant. I showed up to your father's house and I asked to see him. They let me in and then I found him and told him the news. He was so scared of how his mother would react but he was happy for us, so he promised he would talk to his parents about it._

_ The same evening he invited me and my family for dinner and said everything about our relationship to his mother and father. Their reaction wasn't what we expected, which gave us false hopes. My parents on the other hand, just wanted me to be happy. The following day your father told me that his father was sending him out of town for a couple of days to take care of some business. He asked me to stay at his house so that he was sure that while he was away I was provided with everything I needed. That was the last time I saw him. The same evening his mother came to talk to me. She said that she wanted me out of her son's life. I told her that this wasn't going to happen and that I wasn't afraid of her, but she had her way to convince me. She threatened me. She said that if I didn't do as she said, my father would lose his job which was something that my family couldn't afford. My mother was sick and my father needed the money to pay for her medication. I had no choice. I wrote them a letter explaining everything to them and asking my father to not quit even after everything that happened. Then I left._

_ For the next few months I kept an eye on my parents, just to make sure my father still had his job. The only change was that they had moved him to their second house in the countryside, but that was fine by me, even though I never found out why they did this._

_ After that I moved to Mystic Falls. I found a job and rented a house. I wanted to give you the life that you deserved. You were the only thing that I had left and I that made me love ypu even more. I still remember the first time I held you in my arms. How could a little creature so small and fragile as you bring me all the happiness I could ever ask for? But you did. You filled my life with beautiful moments and I treasured every single one of them in my heart. In a life full of difficulties and pain, you were my miracle._

_ The first 3 years that I had you, I was hopping that your father would come looking for us. But he never came. It didn't matter though, because having you was all I needed._

_ Now that you know the whole story, you can choose of what you'll do from now on. Your father's name is Guiseppe Salvatore. Finding him won't be hard if you decide to do so. But before you choose what you want to do, please take my advice in one thing. The past can't be changed, but the mistakes we did can be forgiven. Don't let the mistakes me and your father did inflict your future. If you want to meet your father do it. Don't judge him and don't go hard on him. After all he might have his own side of this story._

_ The choice is all yours._

_ I love you so much Damon._

_Your mother._

And then I knew that this would be the last time I'd hear from my mother and it felt like losing her all over again. The worst part was that even though I used to be curious about my fathe, but now that I knew the truth I didn't want anything to do with him. He hurt my mother in the worst way possible. But my mother wanted me to find my father and listen what he had to say. She was asking me to find him and also forgive him if it was possible. It was the hardest decision I've ever taken, but if it was my mother's last wish, who was I to say no?

And with these thoughts I fell asleep after I poured myself drinks until the bottle of bourbon of the coffee table in front of me was entirely empty.

* * *

**So that was the 4rth chapter. I know I left it in the middle of the Damon/Miranda talk, but I did it to add some suspense in it. Next chapter will have the rest of their conversation and also some Damon/Elena interaction. You will also get to meet Tom. Please be nice and leave a review. Thanks for reading xxx**


	5. The Dinner Is Surved

The** last chapter got lot of nice reviews. Thank you guys for reading this story. It really means the world to me. Oh, I also got one review saying "It's Alaric not Alarix" and I just wanted to say that I know :P It's just that I wrote the entire chapter using my mobile so it was a typo and I'm sorry about it. Anyway, so here's the 5th chapter(it starts from Miranda's last line from the previous chapter) I hope you guys like it and I'm sorry it took so long to update.**

* * *

"So did you read the letter?" Her voice was serious now.

"I did. More times than I could count." Damon shrugged.

"So tell me, what are you gonna do now that you know who your father is?" She was hoping Damon wouldn't let his egoism take over and keep him away from his only living family.

"I don't know. I need some answers first. Like why the hell didn't my father come looking for my mother? And the fact that his mother was a bitch doesn't even begin to cover it."

"Your mother never figured that out either. The only one who can answer what you're asking...is your father." She paused when she saw him shaking his head in disapproval. "But you don't have to rush things. Take your time, think about it and go find him only when you feel ready." Damon sighed. She really was like a mother to him.

"Thank you." He finally said.

"And I want you to know that no matter what will happen, you're not alone. You have us. We're not leaving you." Her words made Damon's heart warmer. He was happy and he didn't know how to express it in words, so he simply pulled her into a hug. And a simple tear rolled down Miranda's cheek.

"I wish your mother was here to admire her son as much as I do. She would be so proud." She said, still in his arms.

"D-Do you think she died happy? I was always wondering that." He pulled away and looked deep into her brown eyes that were reminding him of Elena's.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because now I know what she'd been through." His voice was shaking and he looked down.

"Hey." She reached for his face with her hand and pulled it back up. "Sarah's life wasn't easy. Lot of things were ripped away from her. But she was the strongest person I've ever met...and you know why she was so strong?" She stroke his cheekbone. "Because of you." She paused. "And the answer to your question is yes. She did die happy. Because she had you and you somehow gave her everything she ever wanted."

"I miss her." It was the first time he ever admitted it out loud.

"I understand." She whispered and that made him remember of her loss. Most people were saying that they understand while they had no idea of what it means to lose someone you love. But Miranda knew. She had lost her husband.

"I'm sorry about Mr. Gilbert." He finally said. He thought she would cry but she surprised him by giving him a weak smile, so he continued. "I guess life is unfair and we should get used to it."

"That's why it's important to at least get to enjoy the good parts of it, for as long as we can, because they can end anytime. Don't you ever forget that." Her words were full of wisdome and Damon knew he wouldn't let them go off his mind.

Half an hour later Miranda asked Elena to escort her to her room and help her get ready for the night. When Elena was finished she closed the door of her mother's bedroom and she walked down the stairs. She searched the house with her eyes to find Damon but something else got her attention..the front door was open. She walked towards it and she looked outside. There she saw Damon sitting in the staircase of the poarch and looking at the nightsky. The image made her eyes look at him in a warm way even if he wasn't facing her. She just felt like it. All these memories of him sitting there as a kid doing the exact same thing he was doing in that moment was making her nostalgic.

"What are you doing out here?" She smiled at his back.

"Just looking at the sky. I forgot how beautiful it looks from here." He said and she approached him and sat next to him.

"I really want to make it work you know..." Elena suddenly said after a few moments of silence.

"What?" He looked at her with confusion painted on his face.

"I want to be friends with you again, Damon." She looked him in the eyes. She didn't know another way to make him understand how much she meant it.

"I want that too. I'm glad I'm back." He said with a husky voice.

"I'm glad you're back." Her voice came out as a breathless whisper. Their faces were so close and her eyes started falling from his eyes to his lips. That was the hint her body was giving her to pull away from him. And she did.

"Shouldn't we get inside? You must be tired." Damon suggested.

"Can't we just stay here for a little longer? The stars are beautiful." She looked up in the sky and smiled and he couldn't say no to her when she looked like this. He shook his head in amusement because he couldn't tell the difference between her and an inoscent little kid in that moment.

So they stayed there not talking. Just enjoying eachother's presence. Elena leaned her head on his shoulder. Damon wasn't used to this kind of gestures but it somehow didn't feel strange. The emotions though that came with it couldn't be explained. If anyone ever asked him to describe his heart he would say it was grey and cold, but while hewas there with her he could almost see it taking hints of its natural colour again. H eknew he was way too broken and way too messed up. He was away from being completely healed...but now he at least knew he was getting there.

* * *

Elena was making a list of what she needed to buy for the family night while drinking her cofee. She was careful to not forget anything but there were so many other thoughts in her mind and they were distracting her. The previous night her and Tom had made up through the phone but he didn't sound exactly happy about Damon being there. Elena knew though that Tom was too much of a gentleman to cause any scenes. But Damon? He was unpredictable and he was too snarky and sometimes even indescent. He could make Tom feel uncomfortable or insult him without even realizing it. She had to think of a way for their meeting to not cause any problems. If this would happen she was sure that the rest of the night would be great.

"Good morning baby." She heard her mother's voice.

"Hey little sister." Jeremy was with her.

"Hey when did you get home?" She approached him and he extended his arms and wrapped them around her.

"When you were asleep..I was out with Anna." He smiled shyly.

"Is she coming tonight?" Elena asked feeling excited.

"Yeah. Also aunt Jenna called. She said she will be out of town for another week. I think she and her boyfriend are having fun." Miranda rolled her eyes. She knew how obsessed her sister was with Logan Fell. She was in love with him since high school. Jenna had convinced herself that she was over but the previous month he had asked her out and she just couldn't say no to him. It didn't take them long to become a couple. Miranda didn't like Logan and neither did Elena. Jeremy was the only member of the Gilbert family who seemed to be okay with him. The truth was that he actually didn't care. Not because he didn't love Jenna, but because he was too bussy with his own love life and wasn't interested in anyone else's.

"And I'm sure she's not gonna save the glory details of her trip to herself." Miranda sighed. "At least she seems to be happy."

"So how did your trip in Denver go? Let me guess. You didn't find him and I win the bet." Jeremy smirked.

"Guess again brother." She gave him a devilish smile.

"No way." The smirk disappeared from his face.

"I found him. I gave him the letter that says God knows what and after reading it he...he wanted to come and see mom."

"He's here?" His voice was a little high.

"Yes." Miranda answered before Elena did. "Why don't you go check on him baby?" She looked at her daughter.

"I have to make you coffee first."

"Jeremy will make coffee." Jeremy still was a little shocked with the news but he shook his head.

Elena left the kitchen and she went upstairs. She opened the door of the room they had given to Damon and she took a peek inside. Damon was still in bed. The sheets only covered the lower half of his body and she could see his bare chest moving up and down slowly while he was sleeping. His face looked so peaceful and beautiful. Everything on him was inviting her to keep on looking, to keep on taking in the perfect image of him.

"Stop drooling." His voice surprised her and made her take a step back.

"Oh..hey..uhmm..I..I was just checking if you're awake." Damon chuckled with her nervousness. Her cheeks were flashd red and her brown eyes were looking at anything but him.

"You don't have to come up with any excuses. If I were you, I'd be staring at me too." He winked and she rolled her eyes.

"How can you be so cocky all the time?" She said as she walked further inside his room.

"I got to admit..it's one of my most obvious characteristics." He stepped out of bed and Elena covered her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was higher than usual.

"Dressing up. But if you want me to stay naked, all you have to do is ask." She swallowed and tried to control herself. The darkest sides of her wanted to just let go and give into the temptation. But she decided to remain calm and stop thinking about him wearing only his underwear.

"You can open your eyes now." He smirked and she little by little uncovered them.

"I just wanted to inform you that we're gonna have a family night tonight. So we have to go buy grocers and stuff."

"Sounds great. And don't worry I will go for a walk and let you enjoy the night with your family." He suddenly started missing Rose and Alaric.

"What are you talking about?" She shook her head. "You're not going anywhere. You will stay for the family night Damon. You are our special guest...you are my..friend." His eyes were lighter for a second. She knew exactly what this meant to him. "So hurry up. I'm gonna wait downstairs." She said and left the room.

* * *

It was almost 9 p.m and Tom, Caroline and Matt would soon be there. Elena was almost ready. She wore short blue dress. It was Tom's favorite and he always thought that blue was her colour. The only thing that remained for her to do now was to zip it. She reached on her back with her hands and started pulling up the zipper. The one moment everything was going great and the next her zipper stuck. She did everything she could in order to fix it herself but when she started sweating from the effort she gave up.

"Jeremy?" She yelled. "JER?" This time her voice was louder. The door next of her bedroom opened and Damon walked out.

"He went to pick up his girl." Damon let his back rest against the wall. "Now what the bell happened to you?" He finally looked at her and noticed just how beautiful she looked. Her blue tight dress was hugging every inch of her body perfectly. A smile spread across his face and Elena cleared her throat in order to bring him back to reality. She couldn't help but feel butterflies in her belly just by seeing him looking at her like that but she didn't let herself express how she felt.

"Oh great." She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I can help you since Jeremy isn't here." Damon suggested.

She knew it was a bad idea to ask him to zip her up because he would get to touch her and she was trying to forget how his hands on her felt. Even though it was impossible. If she could only control the way her body responded to his. She took a deep breath as she made the decision. What other option did she have? And after all it wasn't a big deal. Just a friend helping another friend. Nothing more nothing less.

"I had a problem with the zipper of my dress. It won't go up. Can you put a hand?" She mentally slapped herself. "With the zipper I mean." Damon chuckled at the way her cheecks were flashed red and he approached her and went behind of her. His body was unnessesarily close to hers but it was like he didn't have any control of it. Elena felt his one hand grabbing the top of the fabric in order to keep it in place while his other hand was working on the zipper. The hand that was holding the dress was rubbing at the skin of her back and it was sending tingles to every part of her body. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled these emotions he was giving her out of her system. When he finished, she slowly turned towards him.

"Thank you." He was still standing so close to her and she could see it in his eyes that their little moment had affected him as much as it did to her.

"You're welcome." He gave her a little smile and he didn't move, he waited for her to break the moment. Her eyes lingered a little bit at the smile his lips had formed and then took a step back. She couldn't stand so close to him and keep on denying the attraction there was between them. _ For Christ's shake Elena! Tom! Think about Tom! _

It was like someone heard her prayers because the doorbell made her snap out of her moment with Damon.**  
**

"Sounds like Tom's here." Damon said and opened the way for Elena to go open the door. "After you." He said and smirked.

"Look who's becoming a gentleman." She teased him and started walking down the stairs with a big smile.

"Oh shut up." He said and foowed her.

Elena rushed to the door and opened it. Tom was standing there with flowers in his hands. His green eyes were full of light as his smile grew bigger when he saw her. Elena smiled back and let him walk in. Caroline was standing right behind him and and when she finally wlked in the house she hugged Elena tight.

"I've missed you." The blond girl screamed and held Elena even tighter making it hard for her to response or even take breath.

"Easy there Barbie. Let her breathe." Damon joked as he showed up in the hallway. His voice got Carolines's attention and she immediately let Elena out of her embrace. Caroline was about to say something but Tom cut her off.

"You must be Damon." He said with a friendly smile on his face but Damon could hear the insecurity in his voice.

"The one and only." Damon smirked and shook Tom's hand. "And you must be Nick." Damon said naturally. "Oh wait. Or is he the other guy?" He turned to Elena and looked at her seriously but then he chuckled. She wanted to laugh too because he seemed to really have gotten Tom with his joke but she decided to give him a warning look when she noticed how awkward Tom must have felt. "Relax. I'm kidding. Nice to meet you Tom. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good one." Tom sighed and smiled. He knew Damon was Elena's friend and he wanted to be polite.

"And what about you blondie?" Damon walked towards her full of confidence. "Aren't you gonna say hi to me?" He threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Ugh you're still so annoying." She said but then chuckled.

"I know." He whispered in her ear. "So why don't we go to the kitchen to catch up a little bit and let the couple alone?" He used all his will in order to form these words. He knew that Elena was with Tom and that she was also thinking of marrying him but his jealousy was still burning inside him.

Damon and Caroline went to the kitchen and Tom and Elena walked towards the living room.

"Uhm these are for you." Tom gave her the flowers.

"They're beautiful." She smelled them and then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you." He smiled at her in a loving way.

"You're wearing this dress." Tom pulled her closer to him. "Are you trying to seduce me?" The funny thing was that she wore that dress because she actually felt guilty towards him for spending so much time with someone she was more attracted to than she was with him and also presenting that someone to him as just another friend. She wished she was able to have a say on how she felt but she didn't. And so decided to just make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid while Damon was there. After all it would all come an ending soon. Damon would live and she would keep on living her normal life. She would also get to marry Tom sooner or later. Everything would go as planned in the end, if only she could act normal.

"Maybe." She whispered and winked at him.

"Well..mission accomplished." He pulled her face closer to his and claimed her lips. Elena was the first to pull back.

"I got to run upstairs and see if my mom is ready or if she needs any help. I'll be right back." She gave him a last quick kiss and run to the stairs. Tom went to the kitchen where he found Damon and Caroline getting the table ready for the dinner while casually chatting. He was a little surprised of how easily Caroline had opened up. They were acting like Damon never walked out of their lives. How could they ignore 17 years of not seeing him? But there they were...everyone was treating him like a family member. How could it be so easy for him while it had been so hard for Tom in the beginning?

"Having a good time guys?" Tom said to make them notice his presence.

"We were thinking of what to do after dinner and Caroline said you have a nice voice..so why don't we doing a karaoke night?" Damon said while he continued setting the table and also checking the food.

"Well..." Tom was caught off guard.

"Oh come on! It's gonna be fun!" Caroline yelled.

"Yeah I know...but remember the last time I tried to convince Elena come to that karaoke party last year? She hated the idea...she found an excuse to not go and we ended up watching Gone With The Wind on her couch." Damon smiled because that was his favorite book even though he had never watched the movie.

"You're right..she won't like it." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Start picking your songs blondie. We're having a karaoke party tonight and Elena is gonna participate. Just leave her to me. I'm pretty sure I know just the way to convince her." And that was the moment Tom begun to worry. How on earth would Damon make her do something she didn't like and how was he confident about his success. But that wasn't who Tom was, so he buried his fear and his stress away. If Damon knew of any way to make Elena enjoy that night he didn't have any problem with it. After all he loved her.

"Where is she by the way? We could use some help here." Caroline complained.

"She's upstairs helping her mom." Tom informed them.

"Alright. So, Tom help out Caroline and I'll go tell Elena about our plans for tonight." Damon said and left the kitchen with the towel he had over his shoulder still hanging there. He seemed like he belonged there, like he lived for years in this house.

After 5 minutes Miranda, Elena and Damon were all heading downstairs. The table was al set and Jeremy and Anna were there too. The rest of the dinner went great. The friendly environment made Damon get closer than ever to his wildest fantasies of being surrounded by a big family. He wished Rose and Rick were there with him.

The best part of the night though was the karaoke. Everyone enjoyed it, especially when Damon decided to sing "My heart will go on". He was a terrible singer. Thanks to his brave choice Elena decided to let go and have fun. In the beginning she only agreed to do this because Damon mentioned it in front of her mother and of course Miranda loved the idea. She was surprised that Damon knew he didn't have her in the palm of his hand, which was weird for someone as arrogant as him. He was also smart enough to know that Elena would do anything to please Miranda so of course she ended up giving in without expecting to as well enjoy it. She couldn't be more wrong about that. She haven't had so much fun with her friends in years.

When the karaoke battles came to an end everyone started leaving.

"Please tell me you're staying for next week's family night too." Caroline laughed.

"I have a life I have to go back to." Damon shrugged.

"Whatever. It was nice to see you again ass." She could get uses to him being around. The most important thing for her was that he seemed to have his way to make Elena happy.

"Get home safe Barbie." He smirked.

"Night Elena, night ." She yelled and then went outside waiting for Tom who would give her a ride. Damon was impressed by Tom's talent in singing. He and Caroline had beaten everyone's ass.

"Tom! It was nice to meet you buddy. I hope I'll get to see you again sometime." Damon shook his hand.

"Definitely. I'm looking forward to it." Tom smiled politely and then turned to look at Elena who had approached them.

"I admit it...I was wrong about those karaoke events." Normally she would put her arms around his waist and kiss him goodnight. But with Damon standing there, she just couldn't. She hated the fact that he had the power to affect her relationship even though nothing ever happened between them. And there she was, trying to have a small talk about what a great time she had instead of kissing her fiance.

"I guess we have to thank Damon." There was something weird in Tom's tone, like was trying to be friendly, but had other things going on in his mind. Elena noticed the awkwardness between the two men so she decided to end this moment.

"Yeah. Well take Caroline home now..she must be freezing waiting outside." Elena gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He gave her one last smile and left.

"Please tell me we're gonna clean in the morning." Damon gave her the best puppy look he had.

"It course we're gonna clean in the morning. Now it's time to rest." Miranda's voice answered. "Did you have good time Damon?"

"Of course. I've never had such a family night before tonight." His eyes then connected with Elena's "Thank you for letting me stay." His voice was serious while the oceans of blue were burning the chocolate browns. And just like that she lost her words and couldn't reply to him. Not with him looking at her like that, not with her heart beating so fast.

"Elena dear it's getting late, would you mind to help me get to bed?" Miranda said and broke the awkward silence. Elena broke the connection her eyes had with Damon's and looked down at her mother.

"Yeah sure." Elena went behind the wheel chair. "I'll see you in a bit. Why don't you go to the living room? Jer and Anna are there. I think she's staying the night."

"Someone's gonna have fun tonight. I hope they keep the volume low though." Miranda chuckled at Damon's joke.

"Goodnight Damon." The woman said and then Elena guided her upstairs using the ramp they had built near stairs for the wheelchair to be able to go from the 1st to the 2nd floor ad the other way around.

"Goodnight Miranda." And a beautiful night had almost come to its end. But Elena said she would come back in a bit. And he thought this wouldn't get any better. He loved being around her. The only thing he was afraid of was that things could get complicated between them. Now it was even harder for him. He had met Tom and got to see what a nice guy he was and he knew that he could never compete with him. Elena deserved someone less screwed up than himself. These thoughts were killing him. He had promised himself he would never feel unworthy of a woman ever again, not after Katherine.

* * *

**So that was the 5th chapter I'm sorry it takes so long to update but I'm in the middle of my vacation so it's quite hard to concentrate in writing when I'm with my friends most of the time. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. I'd also like to hear of what you thought of Tom. I wanted to point out that his nice and sweet but of course he starts feel the threat of Damon. I also hope you enjoyed the Delena moment with the zipper. I'm taking it baby steps..I know...but they'lly get where you want them to be, don't worry. :D **


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